Lady Gaga hospitalized

The Crazy Reason Lady Gaga Was Hospitalized Last Week

We asked an M.D. about that oxygen mask she was sporting after a show in Denver.

The Crazy Reason Lady Gaga Was Hospitalized Last Week We asked an M.D. about that oxygen mask she was sporting after a show in Denver.

Daniel DeSolver / Corbis

Lady Gaga is always upping the ante with outrageous outfits and accessories. But that photo she Instagrammed last week of herself in an oxygen mask? That definitely wasn’t a planned costume change. She snapped the selfie during a post-show trip to a Denver hospital, where the singer was treated for altitude sickness while in the mile-high city for her artRave tour.

Her caption, “altitude sickness is no joke!” says it all—developing this condition can be more serious than people think. Altitude sickness happens when you go from a lower altitude to a higher one quickly. For example, you fly into a city in the mountains, and your body doesn’t have time to adjust to the thinner air, which has less oxygen, explains Margarita Rohr, M.D., an internist at New York University’s Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health and a specialist in travel medicine.

Signs of altitude sickness include shortness of breath, a headache, fatigue, and nausea (it’s often compared to a hangover). These symptoms can get pretty intense if you ascend very rapidly and/or go higher than 8,000 feet. And though most of time, things ease up within a day, occasionally symptoms can get so bad that serious breathing problems develop, thanks to a buildup of fluid in the lungs caused by the altitude change. “If that happens, or you feel like passing out or have a lot of confusion or trouble walking, seek medical attention, and don’t ascend any higher,” says Rohr.

It’s a lot easier to try to prevent altitude sickness from happening in the first place, says Rohr. So if you’re heading for the mountains from a low-level area, staying hydrated by drinking lots of water and avoiding alcohol for 24 hours before your trip will help lower your chance of getting sick. You can also ask your M.D. to prescribe meds to take before you leave home, Rohr says.